Outright plays will follow later when Five Dimes have released their top-5 lines.
Matchup plays (1.5 units unless stated):
Pat Hurst to beat Paula Marti -125 @
Expekt
It must be hugely frustrating for Marti that she didn't gain full exemption to this Tour at Q-School. She has spent the last two months on the Ladies European Tour and despite two top-10 finishes from five starts, she has hardly been playing to her potential. When she did get into two LPGA Tour events in March, she missed one cut and finished 60th in the other. She is playing under pressure to earn her card from her limited appearances rather than having to return to Q-School and that is not conducive to good golf. Hurst has been very steady this term and was 2nd on this course in 2000, she should have enough experience to win this match.
Michele Redman to beat Pat Hurst -110 @
SkyBet [3 units]
Redman's course history has not been as good as Hurst's in recent years, but she does remain far more competitive. She has finished ahead of Hurst in four of their last five common events and the solitary loss was by a single shot. Hurst may look good for another top-30 finish, but Redman will have far loftier hopes this week and should finish ahead once again.
Michele Redman to beat Natalie Gulbis -130 @
Five Dimes
Also siding with Redman to beat Gulbis. Again her opponent has the better course history - she finished 5th on her debut here last year - but Redman has been finishing ahead of her opponent on a consistent basis, including the last two common events. Gulbis also appears to be vying for the 'Iron Woman' mantle. She played in 25 of the 28 events for which she was eligible last year and in 12 of 13 this year, plus one event in Japan in May. This will be her sixth consecutive week of competitive golf and it will surely be reflected in some poor finishes when not in contention early in the event. It may have been one reason she finished a lowly 47th last week, failing to break par in any round.
Catriona Matthew to beat Sophie Gustafson -120 @
Five Dimes
Gustafson has just won the Ladies Irish Open, but she will face much greater competition from this weak LPGA field than she did that week. She had missed two of her previous three cuts on the LPGA Tour and apart from Ireland, there is no comparison in form between these two. Matthew has two top-10 finishes in the last four years here and only once in three times has she finished behind her opponent on this course (2000) and that was by a single stroke.
Cristie Kerr to beat Suzann Pettersen -110 @
Five Dimes
Both missed the cut last year, but Kerr was in poor form at the time and was coming off another missed and at least she can point to a 3rd place finish the year before. This year she is well-rested having not played in the last two events, but has finished ahead of her opponent in three of their last four common events.
Patricia Meunier-Lebouc to beat Michelle Wie -105 @
Five Dimes [3 units]
There's too much hype about Wie at the moment. Yes, she just became the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and she did finish in the top-10 of the Nabisco Championship in March, but she finished 33rd in her only other LPGA Tour start this season (Chick fil-A Charity Championship), where she also finished behind Meunier-Lebouc and she missed the cut in her three LPGA Tour events last year. If she were to riding on the crest of a wave from last week's win, then it is very likely to run out of steam by the weekend. Last week, she played 36 holes of qualifying, followed by five 18-hole matches to reach the finals, and 36 holes against an NCAA champion who gave her all she could handle on a sticky, sweltering afternoon along the Atlantic Ocean. She is not in the same bracket as Meunier-Lebouc and won't be for another year or two. Expekt goes a far more realistic -154 on Meunier-Lebouc.
